"Access in Mathematics for All" (AMA) supports an emerging partnership between the Community College of Aurora (CCA) and the University of Denver (DU) to develop a program in mathematics education designed specifically to improve access and opportunities for underrepresented racial and ethnic minorities and low-income students who are mathematics majors, to teach in high-need schools. The legacy of a lack of access to a high quality and rigorous education in mathematics for historically marginalized populations is that these groups are significantly and consistently underrepresented in STEM education, degrees, and careers. The primary goal of AMA is to develop capacity at DU to significantly increase the number of diverse and low-income students graduating from DU with a degree in mathematics and a master's degree and teaching license in secondary mathematics. A secondary goal is to create an academic pipeline for students at CCA who have finished substantial mathematics coursework to transfer to DU as a mathematics major and eventually become mathematics teachers in secondary schools.
The project will be directed by the following five guiding principles: (a) instruction that is considerate of students' backgrounds and needs carried out by well-trained and dedicated faculty; (b) academic support for students to develop intellectually as well as confidence in their mathematical abilities; (c) social support for students to be integrated into the DU community; (d) ongoing student access to successful (student and faculty) role models; and (e) recognition and celebration of students' achievements. This project will address the underrepresentation of diverse and low-income students in STEM by creating a mathematical pipeline between CCA and DU. Three courses will be developed in the early stages of this project. The first two courses, a "transition to college calculus" course, and a proofs/logic course in mathematics, have specifically been selected because success in these courses is critical to the future success of mathematics majors. The third course is a "capstone" course in secondary mathematics. A goal in all of these courses will be to foster students' mathematical reasoning as they solve problems and share and develop mathematical ideas with peers. A working hypothesis of the project is that through engaging students in instruction in which the development of mathematical reasoning through discourse is modeled, students will learn how to implement such instruction and this will benefit them when they start teaching. Each of these courses will include instruction in best practices for teaching mathematics to English language learners (ELLs) and will leverage the extensive social and financial support provided for students in two existing DU programs, the Volunteers in Partnership (VIP) program and the Center for Multicultural Excellence (MCE). The VIP program provides financial support for low-income students who commit to working on a volunteer basis in local high schools through the year. In addition, a Math Club at CCA will be initiated and members of this new club will carry out supplemental instruction in Aurora schools. AMA Fellows will also serve as volunteers in participating VIP high schools. The service activities that AMA Fellows will experience through VIP and the CCA Math Club will help prepare them to be effective teachers in high-need schools. This project will initiate a research study to understand the complexities associated with recruiting, retaining, and graduating diverse students and low-income students who major in mathematics in order to become secondary mathematics teachers in high-need schools. It will also initiate a longitudinal study of diverse, low-income students to determine best strategies for recruitment as well as obtaining student perspectives of what program activities are most beneficial. This will involve individual and focus group interviews with the students.
